1. Field Of The Invention
The present device is useful for the teaching of tennis to beginners and for improving the strokes of more advanced players. There is a need to position a tennis ball at a suitable fixed height and location so that a player may swing at a ball unobstructed by any support just as if he were hitting a tennis ball which has been struck and directed toward him by an opponent. However it is not desirable to have the ball directed anywhere specifically but it would be at a fixed location so that the player can practice whatever proper strokes he desires and a coach can correct a stroke without requiring any additional persons or machines for directing a ball toward the practicing player.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Many patents have been designed for practicing of sports or other games such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 137,119 issued March 25, 1873 to W. Withers; 834,707 issued Oct. 30, 1906 to C. Bradshaw et al; 1,744,680 issued Jan. 21, 1930 to R. Sherrill; 1,816,521 issued July 28, 1931 to J. Feeley; 2,055,498 issued Sept. 29, 1936 to H. Jacobs; 2,100,690 issued Nov. 30, 1937 to R. Andler; 2,272,765 issued Feb. 10, 1942 to J. Beeson et al; 2,911,745 issued Nov. 10, 1959 to V. Simon; 2,903,817 issued Sept. 15, 1959 to W. McLain et al; 3,325,935 issued June 20, 1967 to D. Holter; 3,465,471 issued Sept. 9, 1969 to S. Friedman; 3,876,203 issued Apr. 8, 1975 to P. Gold; 3,887,182 issued June 3, 1975 to J. Breslow and 3,940,132 issued Feb. 24, 1976 to J. Lopatto.
None of these patents show the specific design for a tennis ball support device wherein the ball is not contacted by any external elements other than merely air.